Blog Archives

My last post, written four months ago, was a little intense, Catastrophe Before and After Ragnar Relay, and I took a break from blogging for a while. The good news, well at least for me, is that I’m back, and making a commitment to update regularly. It’s been a busy four months, and all of these updates, probably deserve their own post, but for now, let’s do a quick re-cap:

Racing continues. As soon as I got the clearance to run, once my ectopic pregnancy had finally terminated, I hit the ground running…

Coaster Run 5K at Knott’s Berry Farm on March 8th

Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation 10K on March 29 (Go Team Brody – Reaching For A Cure 2014)

Ragnar So Cal – April 10-11 – Team Name: Great Bowels of Fire (1st Place in our Division)

Tinker Bell Half Marathon at Disneyland on May 10. (Finish in 1:58:42)

On May 3, my friend, Stacy, and I were baptized at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, and our amazing group of friends were there to support us. We were also photo bombed by Pastor Rick Warren himself!

I celebrated a wonderful Mother’s Day with my beautiful family.

We went on a 4-day Carnival Cruise with our good friends and our girls’ bff’s! Together, our two families had 5 girls within 14 months of each other! We had a blast!

At the end of May, my brother and I were able to pull off the surprise of the century, and surprise my dad for his 60th birthday! He had no idea we were coming (I live in California, brother in North Carolina and dad (and sister) are in Maine).

I also got to visit my mom and some of her family in Maine. It was an amazing trip!

I surprised Trent with a “day date” on June 12, our 6 year wedding anniversary, and we played Foot Golf! Possibly, a new favorite sport!

Katelyn and Chelsea turned 4 in June and we celebrated their birthday, with good friends, at Pump It Up!

The family celebrated Father’s Day one week early, and headed to Angels Stadium for our first family game of the season! Katelyn says “Mike Trout is the best baseball player ever.” I have to agree!

The girls completed their last day of preschool and officially start pre-k this fall! They are growing up way too fast!

At the end of June, we traveled to Pismo Beach to visit Trent’s family. It was great to see everyone in one place!

This summer, we’ve spent a lot of time in the pool and the girls have come so far with their swim lessons! I am so proud of them!

It’s been a busy 4 months, so this update seems action packed! I still can’t believe the girls are four. They make us laugh every day and our family is truly blessed. I promise our next update will not be 4 months away, so stay tuned!

First of all…how is it even possible, that the girls just turned 3? I am completely baffled by that number. It seems like just yesterday I was holding two 5 pound babies in my arms!

Moving on…I think I may have found the ultimate, preschool-aged, birthday party venue!

This past weekend, the girls celebrated their 3rd birthday, with 14 of their friends, at Pump It Up in Lake Forest. The party was private, so the kids had the entire place to themselves for two hours!

What could be better than throwing a fabulous birthday party, at a super fun place to play, where jumping is allowed, screams and giggles are welcome, pictures can be taken for you, it was completely stress-free and best of all, you get to leave the mess behind!

There are several different packages to choose from when booking your party, which can be done online, over the phone, or in person.

We went with the deluxe package for 15 kids, which included access to the exclusive, Pump It Up invitation system (making evites a breeze), 80 minutes of private play (40-minutes in each arena), 2 slices of pizza per child, bottled water for each child (you also have the option of soda or juice), set-up, clean-up, paper goods, party photos, and amazing hosts! All we needed to bring was the cake!

40 minutes in Arena 1:

40 Minutes in Arena 2

40 Minutes in the Party Room

There are several other options you could add to your package if you choose, including additional party food (or you can bring your own approved food and beverages), party experiences (Go Glow!, Pirate Quest, Super Hero Training Quest, Boppin Balloon Bash), goodie bags and more!

Some important things to consider before booking your party, for safety reasons, children under 34″ are not permitted on the inflatables. Everyone who plays on the inflatables, must wear socks. Adults can play too!! In fact, I have had so many parents make the comment, “I’m not sure who had more fun, the kids or adults!” and I couldn’t agree more!

We had such a fun time celebrating the girls’ birthday, that I would highly recommend checking out your nearest Pump It Up, to celebrate your little one’s next birthday bash!

Today, my girls were scheduled for their first dental cleaning. Naturally, I was nervous.

The first dental visit, which was a quick visual inspection of their teeth, resulted in a long wait, lots of tears, and a frustrated mommy. I knew that was not going to be the dental office for us, so I was already dreading future dental visits with toddlers.

After a year slipped away, from that unpleasant experience, I realized it was time to schedule their first cleaning. I decided to go to my twin mommy’s and ask them for help in selecting the right dentist. I immediately had referrals coming in, and reassuringly, they were all for the same person, Dr. Tina Azin, in Rancho Santa Margarita.

These moms could not have been more right! I didn’t believe that they would meet my standards, I grew up with the pristine services of Drescher & Cohen DDS, after all. Everything about this dental office was perfect! From the moment you walk in, you feel like you’re at a tropical beach. The staff greeted us right away and the girls headed straight into the Tiki Hut, where they found toys, and video games.

We signed in and were happy to find out they are a paper-free office, so a few digital signatures and we were ready to go! The girls were called back right away and were seen at the same time, which is fabulous when you have multiple children!

The girls climbed in their chairs and were excited about the “ride,” as the chair reclined backwards. What was even more exciting, was the fact that there were TV’s on the ceilings that were playing our all time favorite movie, Frozen! Katarina and Danny were the Registered Dental Assistants that did the cleanings, and they were awesome!

I was in shock. The girls laid back in their chairs, listened to Katarina and Danny, and had their teeth cleaned, flossed, followed by an application of fluoride, and they were 100% cooperative…the entire time! It was like watching a movie. Were these my kids?

After their cleaning, the girls received a goody bag, which to a toddler, was like receiving a pot of gold.

Next, Dr. Tina (Azin) came over for one final look. She counted Katelyn’s teeth and Kate was surprised to find out there were 20 in there! When it was time to count Chelsea’s teeth, Katelyn helped Dr. Tina count. She wanted to make sure sissy had 20 in her mouth too! (She did.)

Overall, the dental visit was amazing. The girls did great, the staff was wonderful, and they can’t wait to go back for their next check-up! Finding the right pediatric dentist is so important. Our girls felt so comfortable here, from the moment they walked in the door. We hope to continue visiting Dr. Azin’s office as long as possible!

Now that I have started to run, it’s safe to say we have a love-hate relationship. I love it because it’s challenging and I am doing something I never thought I could do. I hate it because it’s hard and being competitive, I know I’ll never win a long distance race. But that being said, I have finally learned, that I am in competition with no one, but myself.

Running has taught me that, I am capable of so much more then I have ever imagined, and I am walking away from 8 weeks of run club and 3 completed races, learning to believe in myself and to focus on the journey, not the destination.

“If you run, you are a runner. It doesn’t matter how fast or how far. It doesn’t matter if today is your first day or you’ve been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run.” -John Bingham

Ten weeks ago, I was not a runner. Since then, I have completed one 5K and two 10K’s, and it feels incredible.

Overall, I felt so much better during this race then I did at the Turkey Trot (which I was totally unprepared for). The first half to 3/4 mile was completely overwhelming because there were so many people running on the path, that it was extremely difficult to weave in and out of the crowds, making my pace for the first mile, the worst. After, the crowds finally started to break up, the race was a lot smoother and I actually felt pretty good during the 6.2 miles.

Wow, when I write that, “6.2 miles,” it still boggles my brain. I never pictured myself to be one to run any kind of distance. This running thing is going to be hard but completely amazing at the same time!

The official results are in…

Plymouth Rock N Run Thanksgiving Turkey Trot 10K – 54:49 (8:50 pace)

Troutman Sanders Renegade Santa Run 10K – 53:54 (8:42 pace)

They say racing is addictive and it’s true. No matter how hard it is during the run, and I go through just about every emotion while I am running, the feeling of accomplishment at the end is like no other. In 2014, I am going to continue to focus on improving myself and continuing my new journey!

My next race is already on my calendar, 10K, at Knotts Berry Farm on Sunday, March 2!

I joined the running club with my Fit4Mom Irvine/Tustin moms in mid-October, with the goal of completing a 10K on December 14th. I have always hated running any distance, because I stunk at it, but I love sprinting short distances.

On November 13, I came home from run club, feeling good after a 4 mile run, and sat down at my computer, for what was supposed to be a minute, to log my run onto my daily workout sheet.

Before I know it, one thing led to another and somehow I clicked a button and signed myself up for the Plymouth Rock N’ Run Thanksgiving Turkey Trot 10K. I sat there smiling, starring at my computer and then it hit me, I’m going to be running a 10K in two weeks. What was I thinking? As my girls would say, “Ooops.”

Up until this point in time, the furthest I had ever run was 5 miles, once. My compulsiveness hit me once again and all of a sudden, I was supposed to run 6.2 miles in two weeks! Three minutes after clicking the submit button, the anxiety started to sit in.

My run training was less then par after that night. I was sore from the 4 mile run at run club, so I took a few days off. Then we purchased a treadmill, so I decided to break it in with a 5-mile run. Apparently, there is a lot more to this running stuff then I originally thought. My body was not used to the new surface, so I felt some unusual pain in my knees which forced me to take another break for a couple of days.

Now, one week before the big race, I decided to get back on the treadmill and run a 10K. I had to make sure I could do it, for my peace of mind, I guess. I got it done, but was in a lot of pain after, for days. So, please don’t follow my “balls to the wall” approach when run training. I was only able to run those two times before my race and went through a lot of unnecessary pain. Lesson learned. Follow your 10K run schedule or your run coach! (Note to Carmen: I will listen from now on!!)

I don’t think I slept much at all the night before Thanksgiving. My alarm went off at 5 a.m. and I woke up to get ready for my 7:15 a.m. race.

My friend told me,

“If you can run a 5K, you can run a 10K, but it’s going to be painful if you don’t train right for it.”
–Chris Brown (the CPA, not the rapper).

Well, he hit the nail on the head with that one!

I drove to Yorba Regional Park on Thanksgiving morning, put on my bib and checked in. I was actually excited. The gun went off all I could think was, “This is it, my first 10K race.”

The race was on, my music was blasting and my legs were moving, although, they felt like they were moving through quicksand, they were moving. I passed mile marker 1 with a smile on my face, 5.2 more to go! It felt like every mile marker was a little bit further then it should have been. Mile 5-6 were the hardest. If only I worked on my endurance training more and less on the finish line. We will chalk it up to the sprinter’s brain error…mind only on the finish line. Yah, I need to work on that.

The last part of the race was the best! Maybe the last 100-150 yards were full of people cheering me on to the finish line. Something happened in my legs and they just sprinted full force to the finish markers! I made it!

It was the most amazing feeling. It was a challenge run, but the feeling of crossing the finish line was indescribable. I was completely overwhelmed with emotions. The pain of the run was completely worth it. Now, I understand why running is addictive. That feeling of accomplishment is simply incredible.

Three months ago, I would’ve told you, there is no way I would ever run anything more then a 5K, and I just proved myself wrong. Although I trained the wrong way, I learned from it, and I think I am looking forward to another chance in two weeks!

Here are my official results from my first 10K race!

I am now two weeks away from my next 10K, the Troutman Sanders Renegade Santa Run! I am still sore from my 10K yesterday, and I have definitely learned my lesson, to take it slower, and follow my training schedule. I don’t see myself running more then 4 miles at a time over the next 14 days.

My first two races (5K, 10K) are in the books since turning 30, seven weeks ago and I have one more to check off before the end of the year. If it were not for the amazing girls in Run Club (and a huge thank you to Carmen & Lynsey), then I would have never achieved these new goals, because I would have never believed in myself.